Underdogs over-achieve

Viewpoint by Halle Nottage

Our team sat in silence as our coach, Kanyon Anderson began to speak, “I’ve been thinking about the nicest way to say this, and to be honest, there isn’t a nice way. We are the underdogs.” This thought sent shivers down my spine. The mood dropped, and the room turned icy cold. For the first time since 2011, the women’s side of the PC Soccer Program was set to head into a game as the underdogs, rather than the favored team as it had been for the past eight years. We were set to face our rivals, Highline College, who had not only bested us last year during the championship, but this year as well during preseason. We knew that the odds were stacked against us and that we were heading into a battle that would demand everything of us physically, emotionally, and mentally.
If you’ve ever participated in a race, then you know the feeling that sets in before the gun goes off. The jitters, the nerves; but, the feeling that as soon as that gun goes off you’re ready for what lies ahead. Our warm ups were not our greatest. Shots were wide, touches were off, passes weren’t accurate and so on and so forth. This was entirely due to nerves, as a certain calm fell over the team as we did our walk out. It was very clear that an intense focus had set in, with only winning the match on our minds. The whistle blew, and we came bursting through the gates.
There is truly nothing to describe what happened within that next 90 minutes. Our girls battled with everything they had. Highline dominated for a majority of the match, but we never conceded. In the 77th minute we scored the only goal of the match, on a dirty, gritty play by Kayla Alcott. If we could hold on for the next 13 minutes, our spot in the championship was ensured.
The final whistle blew, and an explosive celebration ensued. Our boys team had come down to support, and stormed the field to join in. I leaped into the arms of our goalkeeper, Andrea Kenagy, and burst into tears. The sense of accomplishment was completely overwhelming, and the atmosphere was filled with pride. For the first time in PC Women’s Soccer history we had won a game as the underdogs.
If you were to ask anyone on the team what the true final was, they would tell you the Highline match was it. We met with Clark Community College in the final, which were by far an easier opponent than Highline. We breezed past them with a 2-0 win, and hoisted up our program’s fourth NWAC trophy.